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Brain–Computer Interfaces - Index of

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Toward Ubiquitous BCIs 381<br />

may downplay the risks if they care enough about the potential benefits. The drive<br />

to win a high-pr<strong>of</strong>ile game competition could crack a gamer’s soul and skull like<br />

some athletes turn to steroids or doping.<br />

Privacy is a major concern that will keep growing as BCIs become both more<br />

common and more capable. BCI use may leave a trail <strong>of</strong> EEG data that could<br />

be mined to reveal more information than the user intended. As BCIs become<br />

more common, people may grow more casual about sending or storing data. BCIs<br />

currently lack the capability to reveal anything too insidious, but this is beginning<br />

to change. Companies like BrainwaveScience and NoLieMRI are working on lie<br />

detection tools based on EEG or fMRI. Systems that analyze mood, fatigue, medication<br />

or illegal drugs, or other characteristics could have therapeutic applications,<br />

but could also be misused.<br />

Liability issues will arise in a BCI-enabled society. If future BCIs could interpret<br />

thoughts more quickly than we consciously realize them, or send commands that<br />

have not been thoroughly considered, who is responsible? What about the “Midas<br />

touch” problem [49], in which a user might send an unintended command? What<br />

about systems that write to the brain – who is liable for resulting actions?<br />

The privacy concern is more serious than liability right now, and both concerns<br />

can be addressed through comparisons to other recent technologies. Regarding privacy,<br />

regulations and standards must be established, with an informed and effective<br />

enforcement entity, to ensure that people’s brain activity will be kept confidential<br />

and will only be used as the user intended. This is not so different from rules<br />

regarding cell phone transmissions, data sent online, research data, or medical files.<br />

These protections are not perfect, and some burden remains on the end user to avoid<br />

sending potentially damaging information with inadequate protection or through<br />

unscrupulous s<strong>of</strong>tware or businesses. Many people today send credit card information<br />

through public internet terminals, loudly announce it in public places, or<br />

leave written copies. And just as many people have s<strong>of</strong>tware to prevent popups,<br />

viruses, cookies, and sniffing, future s<strong>of</strong>tware might somehow limit or screen any<br />

brain imagery used in a BCI to maintain privacy, prevent overly alluring “think here”<br />

links, or warn <strong>of</strong> inadvisable downloads or other s<strong>of</strong>tware.<br />

Liability is a more distant concern. People cannot really use BCIs for critical<br />

decisions now, and BCIs remain so slow that any messages sent must be deliberate.<br />

Computer-to-brain interfaces (CBIs) that write to the brain are currently used for<br />

helping with vision, hearing, or movement restoration, and not so much changing<br />

what you think. Liability issues should also be addressed via current perspectives.<br />

In general, the user is responsible for any messages that are sent. Typing errors are<br />

the user’s fault, and the best way to avoid significant problems is to make sure that<br />

any major decision must be verified.<br />

A related issue is liability for side effects. Many BCIs train the user’s brain.<br />

Systems designed to treat disorders rely on such training to produce positive changes<br />

in the brain. Dobkin [24] suggests possible negative side effects such as a facial tic,<br />

unwanted thoughts, or perceptual distortions. Negative side effects have never been<br />

reported, even in people who have used BCIs for years.

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